22/07/2003

Iraqi ambush claims life of another US soldier

Another US soldier has been killed in Iraq after his patrol was ambushed this morning.

The trooper from the 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment was killed and another was wounded when their convoy was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire at around 9am. The ambush took place on the road between Balad and Ar Ramadi, north of Baghdad.

Several engagements and an accident in Iraq over the past weekend have left five other American soldiers dead and a further six injured.

An attack in Baghdad on Monday morning killed one soldier from the 1st Armoured Division and wounded three others. An Iraqi interpreter working with the coalition was also killed in the incident.

The US military said that the troops were in a vehicle that hit an "improvised explosive device" in the As Sulaykh district. The convoy then came under small-arms fire.

On Sunday, two 101st Airborne Division soldiers were killed and a third injured in Tal Afar when their unit was attacked with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades. They were taken to a field hospital, where they died of their wounds.

In a non-combat related death one soldier was killed and another two were injured in a road accident near Baghdad International Airport on Monday.

In Afghanistan, the US military has claimed that its special forces have killed around two dozen armed men after being ambushed on Sunday.

A US army spokesman said that an "unknown-sized element" of armed men attacked a two-vehicle American convoy near the firebase at Spin Boldak. The special forces returned fire and killed five gunmen. Apache helicopter gunships were called in and killed 17 to 19 people.

No coalition troops were killed or wounded.

Also in Afghanistan on Monday, four Italian soldiers were injured when their vehicle ran into an "improvised explosive device" in the road about 20kms southeast of Gardez.

Three of the Italian soldiers had been returned to duty and the fourth soldier's injuries were described as "non-life-threatening".

(GMcG)

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